I have a fun column in the current issue of The Gorilla on not-so-typical Thanksgiving traditions. I interviewed two Facebook friends, Andy Nichols & Meredith Lawler because each has some unusual T-Day traditions, from Andy's Korean Thanksgiving and bulgogi laden table to Meredith's foray into turkey farming (hint: it doesn't end well...for the turkeys).
But before I detailed their bits and bobs, I had a few wee recollections of my own highly unusual holiday. Here's an excerpt:
"If you only watch celebrity chefs and Lifetime Channel movies, you
might think everything about Thanksgiving dinner is more or less the
same — turkey and fixings, lovely table settings, football, family and
pie. Think again.
I considered the unusual but still deeply traditional Thanksgivings I
experienced when growing up. Built by my great-grandfather, a rickety
four-room cabin, perched on a hilltop deep in the woods in Pennsylvania,
would fill beyond capacity with aunts and uncles, grannies and pappies,
and more kids than you could count. Plus, it was serviced by one small,
overused outhouse. At “The Cottage,” we were too far away from
civilization to be connected by television, phone or even radio. We
spent our Thanksgivings cut off from the world. When I asked my brother,
Brett Querry of New Market, (a rabid Eagles fan), when he first
realized football was a big Thanksgiving Day tradition, he responded,
“1996! I was 21!”
With 45 to 60 people being the norm in attendance, we ate in shifts
at picnic and folding tables with mismatched plastic plates and cups,
but always with real silverware. The second shift berated and teased the
first shift to get moving so they could enjoy the meal, then lolled by
the table as the teens washed every dish used that day. Laden with more
desserts than people, the front porch was a sight: kids picking off the
corners of cakes and snatching cookies at breakfast, hoping no one would
notice.
Once married, I made the biannual switch to fancy clothes and
sterling silver, but I recall my husband being astounded by the
differences in our celebrations. From taking responsibility for raising
and processing the major part of the feast (could you follow through and
enjoy your dinner?) to embracing family heritage with foods at the
table, I asked some Frederick County residents to dish about their
Thanksgivings past and present."
Want to read more? Awesome!! Just click here to check out the entire piece on The Gorilla web site. Feel free to leave a comment on the site and let them know if you enjoyed the article. :) I won't hate'cha!
1 comment:
We have only ever eaten "traditional" foods on Thanksgiving. I do have fond memories of many many Thanksgivings at my grandmother's house. Now I marvel at the tremendous amounts of food she prepared in her tiny kitchen with about 3 feet (max!) of counterspace to work in and no dishwasher. We are spoiled!
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